Johnson, however, said that given the recent upsurge in violence in eastern Ukraine, the U.K. will push for the EU to retain sanctions on Russia. The current sanctions package expires in the summer and has to be voted on by all participating members.

The British foreign secretary said the U.K. government will insist on the EU maintaining its sanctions on Russia, in comments that referred to the recent outbreak of violence in east Ukraine, most notably near Avdiivka.

Johnson said at an EU foreign affairs council meeting in Brussels on Monday: “Everybody is very concerned about that so the causes as you know aren’t quite clear; there’s a bit of murkiness about who initiated that but the UK will be insisting there is no case for relaxation of the sanctions [and] every case for keeping up the pressure on Russia.”

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, who spoke at the same event, said the bloc would never recognize the annexation of Crimea as legitimate, and called for all parties in the conflict in the east to uphold the agreed ceasefire.

“I cannot say where the U.S. administration stands on this, but I can say where the Europeans stand on this,” Mogherini said.

Senator Bob Menendez said he was "disappointed, but not surprised, that the Trump administration has failed once again to prioritize our long-term national security interests or stand up for human rights."